As far as Meck, I think his how-to FF books are okay. He uses a simplistic approach to methods and matching hatches - which I like. But there are more ways to catch fish than just using tandem rigs and indicators. The one thing that makes him believable to me is that a lot of the flies, methods, etc. that he writes about, I find that I have reached the same conclusion as Meck from my own experience.

Meck’s “Trout Streams of PA and Their Hatches” is a good book listing many PA streams and hatches. The Landis book is heavier on locations and maps, while the Meck book is heavier on hatches and flies. Both books are worth having for learning about PA streams.

I looked through a recent Meck book; I believe it is called “How To Catch More Trout”. It looks to be a very good source of info for a beginning or intermediate FF, with tips about hatches, flies, and methods.

With respect to “Fishing Tandem Flies”, I really don’t see how to Meck can fill an entire book about a single method or FF rig. One thing with Meck, for every bit of info comes a glory story about how the fly or rig vacuumed up the stream. I suppose, with enough stories and large type, you can fill up a book on any subject.

Paul, there are people who despise nearly every FF expert out there, all for various reasons. Some reasons are justified, some are not. I really don’t listen, I try to judge for myself.

I have the book and skimmed it. I have mixed thoughts. On one hand most of the information is available elsewhere and it seems that the book is twice the size it needs to be. (Even at that it's thin.) But it is one place that consolidates many of the tandem approaches. I'm waiting to get the Hughs book on rigging to see how that compares.

I also wish Meck would limit or omit the anecdotes. His information seems to be good, but he hides it in uninspired, predictable vignettes, i.e. Not catching anything, switched flies, caught every trout in the stream.

Posted on: 2007/10/14 15:20

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Well excuse me for having enormous flaws that I don't work on.

I guess I would be one of those who has often bashed Meck in the past b/c of his kiss-and-tell writing. I feel equal disdain for Landis, though you probably really don't need to know that. I have had contact with both men, and these contacts have been negative ones. I found Meck pretentious, while Landis wanted me to support him about a small environmental problem concerning a stream he had already damaged more through his writing than those who had dropped rocks into one pool of this stream. Now, I do not like Meck, but I am one who enjoys anecdotal support for the dry writing of technical aspects of fly-fishing. And, even though I possess great disdain for Meck and most of his writing, he DID force Donald Beaver to remove his name from the list of members of the evil empire. That is something to his credit. If you want to read a good book about fly-fishing, pick up Traver's "Trout Madness" or any Gierach book. Also, I liked Dave Ames's "A Good Life Wasted." Maybe we are all "wasting" our good lives in pursuit of trout! End of my ramble; sorry.